


Tears in Heaven

by Vanyel



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Also copious song lyrics, Lol character tags give away the reveal, and this song makes me cry like this, because i am musically motivated, w/e
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 01:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6883858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanyel/pseuds/Vanyel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone else is playing Engineer's guitar. And he's not sure he minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tears in Heaven

The strange man sat on the bed of Engineer’s truck. His legs dangled idly off the end as he looked out into the dying sunlight, sighing to himself. Large fingers moved surprisingly nimbly across the strings of the Texan’s precious guitar, the haunting, sad tune coming from it at once familiar and not. Slowly, Engineer snuck up the side of the truck, trying to get closer to see who the man was, or hearing what exactly he was playing.   
He stopped dead in his track when he heard the first few words. The voice was rich and deep, with an unplaceable accent dancing around the edges, and it was entrancing. It sounded the way a crackling campfire smelled, the way a twinkling star looked.

_Would you know my name, if I saw you in heaven?_

_Would it be the same, if I saw you in heaven?_

The words were recognizable, but the music didn’t seem to match up with what he remembered the song sounding like. Then Engineer realized; it was a minor key transcription. The one vestige of happiness in the song had been removed, letting the words reach their sad way right into the ears of the listener. The stranger leaned his head back, looking up into the sky, and Engineer caught a glimpse of a jagged scar running down from eye to lip on one side of his face.

_I must be strong, and carry on_

_Because I know I don’t belong, here in heaven._

Engineer was transfixed. There was something so raw and real about what he was seeing, the Texan wasn’t even angry that someone had snuck onto his truck and was using his guitar. The words seemed to be sung with such an intense personal meaning to whoever was singing them. He wanted to hear more.

_Would you hold my hand, if I saw you in heaven?_

_Would you help me stand, if I saw you in heaven?_

Getting an idea, Engineer retreated carefully, then slid under the truck. He crawled on all fours, for once grateful for his small size, and stopped underneath the bed, directly underneath the music, listening to that gorgeous voice.

_I’ll find my way, through night and day_

_Because I know I just can’t stay, here in heaven._

It was so beautifully sad. Engineer felt tears beginning to well up behind his goggles as he slowly turned over, laying on the ground and staring up at the metal underbelly of the truck. Whoever this stranger was, wherever he’d come from, the Texan didn’t mind him anymore. He wanted him to keep singing.  
The music stopped suddenly. Engineer started at the sudden silence, and bumped his head on the bottom of the truck. “Oof!”

A heartbeat later, Engineer was looking into the end of some sort of weapon shoved under the bottom of the truck, too close to his face to get a good look at it. “Wait wait wait wait wait!” he called frantically, waving his hands out the bottom. “Don’t shoot!” After a moment more of staring at the gun-or was it a gun?- and tense breathing, the weapon slid away from him, and one of those large hands that had been playing the guitar earlier motioned for him to come out from under the truck. Engineer swallowed, scooting along onto his back before finally emerging from underneath. As the hardhat peeked out, there was a cry of surprise, and suddenly he was being hauled up from the ground. 

The man lifted him to his feet, babbling hurriedly and checking to make sure he hadn’t hurt the Engineer. “Engie I am so sorry I didn’t realize it was you I thought there had been a Spy who’d heard me playing your guitar and I know I shouldn’t be playing it in the first place but this song came into my head that I remembered hearing on the radio that one time and it changed and became sadder in my head and I just had to-” He slapped his hands over his mouth, realizing he’d rambling.

Chuckling softly, Engineer raised his hands. “It’s all right, pardner, no harm done. You got a lovely voice…” He trailed off, tilting his head and squinting behind his goggles. “Wait, that’s right, I was meanin’ ta ask. Who the hell are ya?”  
The stranger sighed weakly, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous smile. “Guess you wouldn’t know my name, then,” he said softly. Engineer was puzzled by this, but looked over at the truck bed. There, poking out from behind the guitar, was a familiar black gas mask.  
“Pahro?” Matching grins broke out across their faces at the same time. “Well, shoot, ‘f I’d’a known y’all had such a great singin’ voice, I’d’a lent ya the ol’ six-string sooner!” Engineer chuckled, hopping up onto the truck bed and picking up the guitar. “Now, Ah know the song normally, but I ain’t heard it like that before. Mind showin’ me that minor chord progression?” Smiling, Pyro nodded, sitting next to him and leaning over the strings.

Though the words and sound were still sad as they sang the song together, the duet fading into the sunset, anyone else listening might have said there was just a bit more hope in them this time.

_Beyond the door, there’s peace I’m sure_

_And I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven._

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgfm5YTG1js for the version of the song.


End file.
